The Setting spotlight
The market on this bottle
U.S. shop listings for this 750 ml bottle, before sales tax. Auctions are left out. The low and the average both sit at $213.97. This bottle is $145. Checked October 27, 2026.
Oakville Cabernet • 2022 • Single vineyard
2022 The Setting Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, California, USA
Skellenger Vineyard. The single-vineyard Cabernet above the Alexander Valley.
Welcome to the best wines from the hottest new brand. The Setting's Alexander Valley Cabernet already carries Jeb Dunnuck 98 and Wine Advocate 95, from two cool sites. This 2022 is the single-vineyard notch: Skellenger Vineyard, a winery-only, small-production Cabernet from Oakville. International Wine Report scored it 98, Decanter scored it 97, Wine Advocate scored it 96, and Jeb Dunnuck scored it 95. The bottle is $145. If the Alexander Valley already earned a 98, what does one Oakville vineyard taste like?
One vineyard, above the Alexander Valley
Jesse Katz founded The Setting in 2014 with Jeff Cova and Noah McMahon. Wine Enthusiast named him 2025 Winemaker of the Year. The Alexander Valley Cabernet already on this site is the broad bottle: two cool sites, Jeb Dunnuck 98, Wine Advocate 95, 22 months in 85% new French oak.
Oakville is the specialty the house keeps small. The grapes come from Skellenger Vineyard, two blocks in Oakville, Napa Valley, and the wine is Cabernet Sauvignon. International Wine Report scored this 2022 a 98. Decanter scored it 97, Wine Advocate scored it 96, and Jeb Dunnuck scored it 95. Dunnuck's 98 still belongs to the Alexander Valley bottling. The notch here is the site: one Oakville vineyard, where that bottling uses two.
The house
Jesse Katz, Jeff Cova, and Noah McMahon. Wine Enthusiast's 2025 Winemaker of the Year.
The vineyard
Skellenger Vineyard, Oakville, Napa Valley. One site.
The notch
Above the Alexander Valley bottling in the lineup. Winery-only, small production, single vineyard.
The scores
International Wine Report 98. Decanter 97. Wine Advocate 96. Jeb Dunnuck 95. 545 cases.
Blackberry, cassis, cocoa, graphite
International Wine Report scored this 2022 a 98. Blackberry and cassis lead, then dark cocoa, crushed violet, pencil lead, and a savory earth note. The palate stays plush with black plum, espresso, anise, clove, and cedar, and a vein of crushed rock keeps the finish long. The report says the wine is already impressive and better in 2026. Production is 545 cases.
Wine Advocate scored it 96. The nose takes its time, moving from blackcurrant and bitter chocolate into graphite, a savory soy note, and flowers. The palate is velvety, layer on layer of spicy black fruit, held by juicy acidity and a mineral finish that wants a few more years. Decanter scored it 97. Jesse Katz said overhead sprinklers saved the fruit off two blocks of Skellenger in the heat of 2022. The wine still tastes fresh after that hot year: dried herbs in the sagebrush and thyme range, tobacco, loamy earth, fine tannins, and a dusty mineral line. Jeb Dunnuck scored it 95. The color is a dark matte red, and the nose stays reserved, with baked plum, red fig, leather, and dried earth, then a grippy, gravelly palate.
Wine Enthusiast had already scored the same vintage 94, for ripe black currant, tobacco, espresso, and graphite, and sent it toward meat and sauteed mushrooms. Alcohol is 14.8%. The grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon from Skellenger Vineyard in Oakville. Pour the bottle at $145.
Blackberry, cassis, cocoa, violet, and graphite.
Plush black fruit, fine tannins, and a fresh acid line from a hot year.
Crushed rock and cedar. Better in 2026, with years still ahead.
The single vineyard beside the Alexander Valley
Two cool sites make the Alexander Valley Cabernet. Skellenger makes this one.
Jesse Katz built The Setting for terroir-driven Cabernet with a modern edge. The Alexander Valley bottling draws on two cool sites and spends 22 months in 85% new French oak. The 2022 Oakville is the single-vineyard specialty next to that wine.
The winery lists this 2022 as Cabernet Sauvignon from Skellenger Vineyard in Oakville, aged 22 months in all-new French oak. Alcohol is 14.8%. The press counts 545 cases and points the wine toward 2026, with enough structure to keep.
A 2014 house, and one Oakville vineyard
The Setting began in 2014, when Jesse Katz, Jeff Cova, and Noah McMahon set out to make luxury Cabernet from sites they already knew. Katz had been the youngest head winemaker in the United States at Lancaster Estate, with time at Petrus, Screaming Eagle, and Robert Foley.
Wine Enthusiast named him 2025 Winemaker of the Year. The Oakville bottle is that house at its most specific: one Napa vineyard, Skellenger, vintage 2022.
Steak on the board, mushrooms in the pan
Wine Enthusiast sent this Cabernet toward succulent meat, sauteed mushrooms, and warming autumn dishes.
Two plates. A grilled ribeye with a hard crust. A skillet of sauteed mushrooms with thyme. Both leave room for black currant, tobacco, and graphite.
Pour around 60 to 64 F in a wide Bordeaux glass. A short decant opens the currant if the wine is still tight.
Grilled ribeye
Fat, crust, and salt meet the Oakville tannin. Char pulls black currant and tobacco through the glass.
Why it works: A hard sear makes the single-vineyard Cabernet feel longer.
View Recipe for grilled ribeye (opens in a new tab)
Sauteed mushrooms
Butter, thyme, and browned mushrooms sit next to espresso and graphite.
Why it works: Earth and butter cushion the finish without covering the fruit.
View Recipe for sauteed mushrooms (opens in a new tab)Add the Oakville at $145
Skellenger Vineyard. International Wine Report 98. The single-vineyard Cabernet from Oakville.
Add the 2022 Oakville Cabernet at $145. Six bottles are $870. Twelve are $1,740, and twelve ship free in the lower 48.
